lol--reminded me of the time I learned never wash a spot in the ceiling. It will make a clean spot you have to deal with.
Absolutely! Don't touch anything unless you have to. I washed everything necessary over to the breakfast nook. That's a good dividing point. The walls there can be done later, when there isn't so much junk to move around. The Dawn works just as well as the Scrub Free to take off the stains. Still need to rinse. By the time you get down to the floor I can't see any difference. The dirt is all due to smoke rising. That means I don't have to move the stove or the refrigerator out from the wall to get behind them.
Three mild days in a row with no rain. A chance to sit on the deck with a thermos of coffee and catch up on the bird activity. This Galaxy Z Flip4 phone has never fallen out of any pocket. You can sit down with it in a front or back pants pocket. I've never missed a call by accidentally hitting the "reject" button trying to get it out of a pocket. However, the camera didn't seem to be as good as the old S10e. The stabilization mechanism is much better. But the videos are blurry, especially on zoom, even as low as 3X. Very disappointing. Chatter online seems to be resignation that the phone just doesn't take good videos. I found out the default video setting is FHD30, which means 1920 x 1080P (2.1 megapixels) and 30 frames per second, but there are 4 other options! The first half of the video below (50 sec) is FHD30 taken yesterday. Terrible! The second half is this morning with setting UHD60, meaning 3840 x 2160P (8.3 megapixels) with 60 frames per sec. Both approx 10 feet away with 3X zoom. Sill not perfect, but much better. A UHD60 video requires a lot more memory and makes stabilization more difficult. That's fine. The leaves in the background seem to confuse things. Or maybe they just confuse my eyes? By the way, that's a mockingbird and the red thing is the Folgers jar lid with water.
I just placed an order for 500 live black soldier fly larvae. Should arrive Tuesday by Fedex. They are only 1/2" long. You don't have to feed them or keep them in the refrigerator. "Black Soldier Fly Larvae can tolerate temperatures down to 50 degrees and as high as 105 degrees. If you plan to keep them longer than 2 weeks, moving the container to a cooler spot (50-60 degrees) will help extend their life." They will live in the basement. Best I can tell the bluebirds are incubating eggs. Might have up to 10 days under their belts already. Possibly the nuthatches also. "Young birds need calcium, protein and fat among other nutrients while growing. Black soldier fly grubs contain an essential amount of calcium, whereas mealworms contain hardly any at all. Moreover, they contain optimal calcium to phosphorus ratio, vital for a bird’s body. In contrast, mealworms have plenty of phosphorus but lack calcium. Hence, a black soldier fly is the better choice." @Mary Stetler: I bet your chickens would love these. They are edible by humans too. Soaked in whiskey and fried with soy & garlic. It would take a lot of whiskey for me.
I have heard of feeding meal worms to bluebirds (apparently they really love them), but not these. I guess you've read stories that the birds might come to expect an unending supply of meal worms, and will literally beat at your windows until you provide their "fix."
This will only be during breeding season. And only while I'm there monitoring. Otherwise the squirrels would get them, and 500 wouldn't last a day. Maybe these birds won't even like them. Who knows.
I buy bags of dried worms through winter. I don't want them to hatch into whichever insect the adult will be, by my barn. Soldier fly larvae are cheaper but I think the ladies prefer meal worms. Definitely need calcium for egg shells.
As I'm sure you know, protein is also important for a healthy inner-egg. I got a couple of dozen fresh eggs that had very fragile yolks. It was darned near impossible to crack an egg and leave the yolk intact. I went on Backyardchickens.com and they cited a lack of protein as the likely cause. I gotta wonder how such a condition might lower the hatch rate. Regarding calcium: I know that chickens will eat egg shells. I wonder if wild birds would, too.
(4/2/23) Sunday Status of the Eastern Phoebes above the outdoor light fixture in the country. Camera chose to focus on the grass, although they are naturally fuzzy-looking. I can see 4, maybe 5. These must be about 2 days old. No eggshells. The mama bluebirds do usually eat them, John. I assume these do too.
Gotta laugh at the all veggie fed egg commercials that were on a while ago. I feed all the eggshells back to the girls with some oyster shells occasionally when they are not laying. Left to their own, chickens eat meat. Frogs, worms, I even saw them gang up on a mouse once. Sometimes in winter I throw some of the cat's dry food out or give leftovers from home.
My friend who owns a green house told me that the %Protein in chicken feed has been reduced. This was pre-Biden's oil inflation. And I was shocked when I saw what people feed their chickens. Leftover coleslaw? REALLY? Marzetti's in my eggs???????
Not if that's what their physiology (and psychology) demand. I hear they use the mice as bait for cats.